Interview by Geno McGahee
Over the last several years, I have been fortunate enough to cross paths with Texas filmmaker, Michael Colburn. Known for the upcoming horror film THE TOYBOX, Colburn has proven that there is no rest for the wicked and has begun various other projects, including some old school detective magazine photography and two video productions: WONDER WOMAN and ZATANNA: THE FEAR OF PUPPETS, which are both having a trailer premiere in December.
Colburn has teamed up with Veronica Orosco to create JVCO Productions. They have taken on the roles of co-directors and have found that working together works. Veronica not only directs, but also stars in these productions. This duo of Texas filmmakers had a lot to say to Scared Stiff Reviews…
GM: You are working on Wonder Woman, which is sacred ground for comic book fans and fans of the TV series. How difficult has it been to create this and how has the production gone?
(Veronica) For me as an actress, she is an amazing heroine in the comic book world. Lynda Carter helped immortalize her on the screen with her rendition and that is what resonated with me. I realize nor will I ever try to be Lynda Carter but I can stay true to what the fans of her series loved and that the storyline, the characters and what Wonder Woman stood for!
(Michael) Agree, with Cos-play making such a huge impact on how the costumes are, and how much work someone will put into the costume, it becomes a race to see who is best. I feel Veronica put 200% into this costume, the appearance and acting. With us not really having a budget, we took a risk, but that’s what film and all this is. One big huge risk. I don’t think anyone wants to see Wonder Woman another other way. Apparently with NBC canceling the series with Adrianne Palicki, who was set to reprise this, just wasn’t what the fans were looking for. As well even the beginnings of the NEW 52 comics that were appearing, THE FANS spoke and Wonder Woman went back to a tradition look but a little revised.
Production factors were looked at and we have made adjustment to keep with Iconic Lynda Carters style and what she brought to the screen. By all means, Veronica is the next Wonder Woman / Lynda Carter in every aspect of that being “Big Shoes” to fill. Wait til you see the performance, and you will see exactly what I’m talking about! Wonder Woman was 2 years in making with us.. It hits home and I will be honest, when i saw the Makeup, outfit and the whole look put together, I cried. This was a personal project for me, and I owe this all to Veronica for making my dream come true… Without her, i would never of had this opportunity…
GM: Would you say that your film is based more on the series or more on the comic or a combination of both?
(Michael) This we are basing towards a series look and feel. We are going to keep it Modern, but have that 70’s look, feel, dialect, etc. We want to represent this, as still that Wholesome show you watched, and learned a valuable lesson. Still will have the peril, and action but we are staying true to the series. What everyone is going to see on Dec 6th with the trailer and short piece we are releasing is like popping back in the old VHS tape and watching it the way it was meant to be watched. I have combined a lot into this to bring back those images. I was astounded how much more work it takes to take HD to that Kodak look and feel vs. shooting back on my Cannon XL2 which was mini DV, but it’s more of a challenge!
GM: How has it been co-directing a project? Do you find it more difficult to co-direct than to direct by yourself?
(Veronica) This has truly been an amazing experience to co-direct with Michael! He has such an eye for details, and for the shots he wants to see done. It’s like the final cut is playing in his head, and he is taking those screen shot by screen shot, and then to see the final product simply stunning! Being an actress helps me to understand what the other actors are going through so directing them becomes second nature for me and I feel they respect me as an actor as well as a director. It has been easy since Michael it so easy to work with, we are always on the same thought process so for me the co-directing has been effortless!
(Michael) Not at all. It’s like we are on the same brain wave length on everything we have been putting things together! LOL! Veronica by far is one of the most creative, and versatile actresses I’ve ever worked with! She can read when I’m doing something and it’s not clicking, or if she isn’t getting something back from an actor she is working with and I swear to you, It’s usually a 1 to 2 take with her.. She understands what we are going for, as we do pre-production meetings and talk over all aspects of what we are putting together. Dress rehearsals, and just getting the cast together to meet one another. It’s extremely humbling to work with her, actually pretty intimidating, but it pushes my boundaries and she has made me a better director and cinematographer, just working with her!
GM: Many have a hard time starring in a project and directing it as well. How has your experience been?
(Veronica) It has been a great experience thus far. When you have someone of Michael’s caliber, it makes it easy to do what I need to do as an actor, but also have the benefiting of sharing a like mind with Michael so I get his vision, I get what he expects of me as an actress and just do my job, and do it to the best of my ability all while staying true to the character. I am one of those actors that can switch the character on and off, which helps when I need to go from actor to director.
(Michael) Let me chime in. IT’S Phenomenal! Veronica makes my job so much easier! We both share a load to what we put together. It’s not a one sided relationship in this Partnership. One is setting meetings, or casting, and the other is putting itinerary together! It’s not work when it’s what you truly love! And i think that’s what I love so much about working with her. She’s a machine! She has a lot going on and sometimes It’s1 am, and she’s still up getting prepped for what she has going on… Another note: her directing that she can stop on a dime and switch back and forth on, is damn amazing! Its breath taking to watch her do what she does! I really feel, honored to have someone who is taking our, hers and my best interest in what we are trying to accomplish!
GM: Zatanna: The Fear of Puppets. Can you tell the readers what this film concerns and what they should expect from this project.
(Veronica)We are tapping into the DC world with Zatanna, loosely based on the comic books and the beauty is that no one has really touched on her storyline film wise. I truly love this character in every sense of the word and with The Fear of Puppets we get a glimpse into some of Zatanna’s past, hence the title, and start to explore what makes Zatanna tick, from her strengths to her fears and we showcase who she really is.
(Michael) Oh my god! Veronica aka ZEE! I have to be honest! This was a blast to shoot! I swear for someone who has not done magic tricks, the look on her face of confidence and the poise, and movements was like she had been doing this for years! It’s like she became possessed! We were fortunate enough to have Thomas Miller from The Josephine Theatre let us use the facilities, and it made a huge difference! Expect to see ZATANNA… in every sense of the Character! We are working on episodes for this and we will be shooting these in 2015!!
GM: It appears that you have shot both projects at basically the same time. Is that true and, if so, how difficult was it to create two films at the same time or back to back?
(Veronica) We did basically shoot them back to back, with some break in between. Wonder Woman was 2 almost 3 years in the making, so we had time to muster that one, get a great script down and find the perfect cast of characters. We shot that out first, edited and trailer done. When the script to Zatanna was shown to me by Michael, I said “why are we not doing this one yet?” and just like that, pre-production was underway, casting call to fill the roles we needed to get a great piece put together too. I had already had her costume since I also cosplay as her, so we were ahead of the game so to speak and I was excited to switch from one classic DC character to Zatanna, a whole different heroine in her own right in the DC world with such a great story to tell!!
(Michael) Exactly, we had shot Wonder Woman in early 2014, but the timeline on Wonder Woman was about 2 years from when we started. We pushed into Zatanna about 3 months ago and again.. Here we go!!!!! I think Veronica took Zatanna to a new level, however with it being untouched, and us getting the top credit on IMDB with this Character for creating a Comic Book Character come to life.
She really took this by the horns and created someone that we both felt was beyond worthy of who Zatanna would and could be! I swear, it’s so amazing to watch her work and the confidence that extrudes out of her, is mind melting! Not saying this cause I work with her… I really am blown away of how this turned out!!! Great cast, and crew that helped do this project! I think when you have a cast your re-using, and they automatically email you and say, just send over the script, they really love what you do, and how you do what you’re doing, and respect the work your creating! These are fan based for the fans, Made by the fans! They are the ones that speak and control how it is all worked out! Also being the independent company, it’s nice to have the control over what we are doing! I feel very Blessed!
GM: What other projects do you have planned at the current time and are you two planning on working together again?
(Veronica) Well Michael and I have partnered up to form JVCO Productions, in conjunction with Deimos Cinema so that we can start producing many different genres of films. We have a few great scripts in the works, along with Tales of Terror in the horror genre, which I will let Michael elaborate more on, but we will be working together for quite some time as business partners going forward! Look out 2015!!
(Michael) Funny thing is, when i posted up the Tales of Terror, I was like, crap Geno has a similar title with what we are doing! “PLUG SCARY TALES” (laughs). But I’ve had Tales of Terror going since 08, and have wanted to see this come to light, and this is the time! I think I’ve been after Veronica for 3 years about doing a horror piece with her, and us joining forces, with JVCO Productions, is really an honor and a privilege to be able to finally make this come full circle and legitimize it!
Tales of Terror is going to be very noir, but combining the whole Tales from the Darkside experience. As a fan of Hitchcock and the Series of Tales from the Darkside, I felt this would make for a blended combo and linking them together to where it really has some great aspects of show casing my horror style and expanding on it. What’s going to be kick ass, is that I’m not directing all of them. I’m doing one, Veronica is doing one and the other we collaborate on together! I’ve seen her direct, and it’s extremely kick ass! Very precise on what she sees and with having my deviant mind of worse case scenarios, she gets that! She wants to see them as well with a great rounded story, When the Cast already walks on knowing, what’s in store, with this being a JVCO Productions, and they love it!!! Can’t ask for more than that!
GM: You have a double trailer premiere on December 6th. It sort of has a grindhouse feel to it. Was that the intention and what else can you tell the readers about the premiere.
(Veronica) Michael and I love the grindhouse effect, something to the likes of Robert Rodriguez. It has such a unique flare to it, we wanted to put that little spin on the cover art to garner interest and of course showcase what we love. The trailer will showcase the mini trailers we have done for both Wonder Woman and Zatanna to help us introduce both of these series and lead us into Episodes for each for 2015! Also, the cast will be on hand for people to come and meet and greet, start collecting autographs and rare prints we will have available.
GM: Do you have anything to say in closing?
(Veronica) I would like to thank you Geno, for allowing us this platform to discuss our company, JVCO Productions/Diemos Cinema and for allowing us to showcase both these amazing trailers to come! I feel we will have great response from our fans and the public once they catch wind and maybe even spark some interest from DC themselves!! Thank you to all our cast and crew for all your hard work and dedication as well as the fans we have already gathered along the way. So I say be prepared all, 2015 is coming!!
(Michael) Thank you Geno for the interview, I have such a high admiration for you not just as a friend, but a great film maker as well… as we said before.. if everyone could be doing this.. then everyone would.. we are a different breed of people…. Thank you to all of the cast, crew and writers that have made this happen, without you, we can’t do what we love! Veronica, I am honored to have this privilege of working with you and getting to make all this happen… You have blessed me with this opportunity, so thank you… Last but not least.. Both these films, I dedicate to My Mom, Sheila (wife), Gabriel my son, and Veronica… Who all have blessed my life, to the utmost best it can be, I’m nothing without them…
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